Adjustable armrest

ABSTRACT

A door having an adjustable armrest has a curved inner trim in the region in which the adjustable armrest is arranged. The adjustable armrest follows the curvature of the door trim with its movement so that the gap between the inner trim and the door is always substantially constant to reduce related drawbacks. The adjustable armrest includes manual and automatic adjustment mechanisms and provision for a folding storage box.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to, and incorporates herein byreference, PCT Patent Application PCT/EP2005/052452, filed May 30, 2005,and German Priority Application 102004026928.9, filed Jun. 1, 2004including the specification, drawings, claims and abstract, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Generally, adjustable armrests on the door of a motor vehicle are known.It is also generally known for the door of a motor vehicle to include anadjustable armrest.

Nowadays, motor vehicles occasionally comprise height adjustablearmrests which are arranged on the trim of the passenger doors. Such aheight adjustable armrest is, for example, known from DE 40 02 242 A1.As the door trim nowadays are frequently curved in the Y-Z plane, theheight adjustable armrests according to the prior art have the drawbacksthat a gap between the door trim and the armrest is altered by theadjustment of the armrest which results in drawbacks such as potentialrisk of injury and a susceptibility to soiling.

It was, therefore, the object to provide an adjustable armrest whichdoes not have the drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY

In one exemplary embodiment, an armrest is carried out in at least onedirection along a curved path, the adjustment being able to be a heightadjustment, i.e. in the Z direction, transversely to the direction oftravel (Y direction) and/or an adjustment in, and counter to, thedirection of travel i.e. in the X direction of the vehicle, and acombination of the three, preferably however only two, adjustments.

It was extremely surprising for the person skilled in the art that theadjustable armrest has a considerably reduced risk of injury and areduced susceptibility to soiling, than height adjustable armrestsaccording to the prior art.

In one exemplary embodiment, the adjustment is preferably carried out inthe Z direction and/or in the Y direction along a circular path. Thearmrest is further preferably arranged in front of a door trim, i.e.toward the passenger compartment and follows the contour of the doortrim during its adjustment. This embodiment has the advantage, inparticular, that the gap between the armrest and the door trim alwaysremains the same, whereby potential risk of injury, for example crushingor squashing, is substantially avoided.

The adjustment of the armrest may be carried out both manually andautomatically. In one exemplary embodiment an automatic adjustment isprovided with either an electromechanical and/or electro-pneumaticdrive.

In one exemplary embodiment, an mechanical adjustment device ispreferably carried out by a toothed rack/gearwheel drive, a threadedspindle drive, a Bowden cable or in one exemplary electro-pneumaticembodiment, a blow pump drive.

In particular with a manual adjustment of the armrest, it isadvantageous if the adjustment is assisted by a spring or biasing meanswhich preferably acts counter to the force of gravity.

In one exemplary embodiment, the drive means and/or the biasing meansare arranged between the structure of the door and the door trim.

In a further exemplary embodiment, the drive means and/or the biasingmeans are arranged in the adjustable armrest itself.

The adjustable armrest preferably comprises a guide which may comprise alatching mechanism. The guide is preferably curved and preferablysubstantially follows the contour of the inner trim, along which thearmrest may be adjusted.

The guide and/or the armrest are further preferably designed such thatthey may be displaced and/or deformed during an impact to the vehicle,so that they at least partially absorb the impact energy occurringduring such an incident.

In one embodiment, the armrest comprises a hollow space which maypreferably be used as a storage compartment and as an energy absorptionmember. A heating element is further preferably arranged in the armsupport region of the armrest.

In one embodiment, a door is disclosed which comprises an adjustablearmrest of the exemplary embodiments. It was extremely surprising andunexpected for the person skilled in the art that the door has a reducedsusceptibility to soiling and a reduced potential risk of injury. In oneexemplary embodiment, the door may be manufactured easily andeconomically by means of a modular structure, the door may be equippedboth with a manual adjustment and with an automatic adjustment of thearmrest.

The door may have the armrest aligned in front of the trim i.e. towardthe passenger compartment wherein the trim includes slots, preferablysupport and/or central slots through which the adjustable armrest isguided and/or the drive of the height adjustable armrest is carried out.The armrest particularly preferably masks these slots so that the doorappears visually attractive.

In one exemplary embodiment, a method for the assembly of the doorincludes placing the armrest on the door structure and includingappropriate support elements after the assembly of the trim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a door with a height adjustable armrest.

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of the door.

FIG. 3 shows a section through the door according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the height adjustable armrestaccording to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows an automatic drive with a gearwheel/toothed rackcombination.

FIG. 6 shows a height adjustable armrest according to FIG. 5, the heightadjustable armrest being held by supporting arms.

FIG. 7 shows a manual adjustment of the height adjustable armrest.

FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment of the height adjustable armrest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a door 2 with a height adjustable armrest 1. The door 2comprises an inner trim 5 which is curved in the Y-Z plane, in theregion in which the armrest 1 is arranged. The armrest follows thiscurvature with its outward and/or downward movement, so that the gapbetween the inner trim and the door is always substantially constant. Asa result, the gap may be of very narrow design which reduces thesusceptibility to soiling and the potential risk of injury, for exampleby pinching the fingers.

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of the inner trim 5 of the door 2,wherein the armrest 1 and a guide element 171 are shown. In the presentcase, the armrest 1 is not only adjusted in its height (Z direction) butsimultaneously also in the Y direction, which is shown by the arrow 6,7. As a result, the angle α between the door inner trim 5 and thearmrest 1 remains substantially constant, which also reduces thepotential risk of injury.

FIG. 3 shows a section through the door 2 of FIG. 1 taken in thedirection of the cut-line in FIG. 1. A door trim 5 is arranged at adistance on the structure 4 of the door 2, in front of which a heightadjustable armrest 1 is located. The height adjustable armrest 1comprises an upper cover 101 which also serves as an arm support andwhich masks the slots 51 (see FIG. 5). Moreover, the armrest 1 comprisesa foam insert 111 in the horizontal arm support region, beneath whichfoam insert 111 a structure 121 with supporting arms is located. Afolding storage box 161 may serve as a storage compartment or as astorage space for the drive or the like. In the lower region, the heightadjustable armrest 1 comprises a lower cover 141. The armrest 1 isarranged to be movable upward and downward on a guide rail 3, by meansof the guide bushings 151 which preferably have an articulated joint.The latching lever 131 which is arranged on the armrest 1, cooperateswith latching positions 31 which are arranged on the guide rail 3 andfixes the armrest 1 in a desired position. The person skilled in the artrecognizes that the guide rail 3 is curved and extends substantiallyparallel to the inner trim 5, so that the armrest 1 substantiallyfollows the contour of the inner trim 5 during its upward and downwardmovement.

FIG. 4 substantially shows the armrest 1 according to FIG. 3, in thepresent case the displacement of the armrest being carried out via awire cable on rollers 8.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the armrest 1. A drive or motor 9is arranged behind the trim 5 and drives a gearwheel (not shown) whichcooperates with a toothed rack 10. The toothed rack 10 drives supportingarms 11 which are vertically guided in the guide 3 and which areconnected to the armrest 1. The door trim 5 comprises slots 51 throughwhich the supporting arms 11 project.

FIG. 6 substantially shows the drive of the armrest 1 according to FIG.5, in the present case the door trim 5 not comprising any slots butcomprising a recess in which the guide element 171 is arranged. It maybe seen once again that the supporting arms 11 are guided via the guideelement 171 and the guide 3.

FIG. 7 shows a possible arrangement for manual adjustment of the armrest1. The manual adjustment is assisted by a scroll spring 14 and comprisesa brake 15 (which may be made of silicon) which stabilizes the armrest 1during the movement and in its position.

FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment of the armrest 1 and the door. In thepresent case, the armrest 1 is shown in two positions, the armrest 1being shown in the upper position in phantom. The armrest 1 comprises anopening in the lower region which receives and overlaps with the doortrim 5. Moreover, the lower cover 141 has a particularly elongate designso that even in the uppermost position no gap is present between thelower cover 141 and the door trim 5.

1. An improved adjustable armrest for a door of a motor vehicle, whereinthe improvement comprises that the adjustable armrest may be heightadjustable and adjustable transversely to the direction of travel of thevehicle and the armrest carries out the adjustment, at least in onedirection, along a curved path, further comprising a spring meansarranged between a structure of the door and a door trim, the springmeans for assisting adjustment of the armrest.
 2. The impprovedadjustable armrest of claim 1, wherein the adjustable armrest is fixedto the door.
 3. An improved adjustable armrest for a door of a motorvehicle, wherein the improvement comprises that the adjustable armrestmay be height adjustable and adjustable transversely to the direction oftravel of the vehicle and the armrest carries out the adjustment, atleast in one direction, along a curved path, further comprising astorage compartment and an energy absorption member arranged in thearmrest.
 4. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 3,wherein theadjustable armrest is fixed to the door.
 5. An improved adjustablearmrest for a door of a motor vehicle, wherein the improvement comprisesthat the adjustable armrest may be height adjustable and adjustabletransversely to the direction of travel of the vehicle and the armrestcarries out the adjustment, at least in one direction, along a curvedpath, further comprising an electromechanical drive for adjusting thearmrest and a spring means for assisting adjustment of the armrest. 6.The improved adjustable armrest of claim 5, wherein the spring means isarranged in the armrest.
 7. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 5,wherein the curved path is a circular path.
 8. The improved adjustablearmrest of claim 5, wherein the adjustable armrest is fixed to the door.9. An improved adjustable armrest for a door of a motor vehicle, whereinthe improvement comprises that the adjustable armrest may be heightadjustable and adjustable transversely to the direction of travel of thevehicle and the armrest carries out the adjustment, at least in onedirection, along a curved path, further comprising a guide with alatching mechanism for latching the adjustable armrest in place.
 10. Theimproved adjustable armrest of claim 9, wherein the guide is curved. 11.The improved adjustable armrest of claim 9, wherein the armrest and theguide may be displaced or deformed during an accident.
 12. The improvedadjustable armrest of claim 9, wherein the curved path is a circularpath.
 13. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 9, wherein theadjustable armrest is fixed to the door.
 14. An improved adjustablearmrest for a door of a motor vehicle, wherein the improvement comprisesthat the adjustable armrest may be height adjustable and adjustabletransversely to the direction of travel of the vehicle and the armrestcarries out the adjustment, at least in one direction, alone a curvedpath, wherein the adjustable armrest is arranged in front of a door trimand the armrest follows the contour of the door trim during adjustment.15. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 14, wherein the curved pathis a circular path.
 16. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 14,further comprising an electromechanical drive for adjusting the armrest.17. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 16, wherein theelectromechanical drive is selected from the group consisting of atoothed rack/gearwheel drive, or a Bowden cable drive.
 18. The improvedadjustable armrest of claim 14, wherein the adjustable armrest is fixedto the door.
 19. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 18, whereinthe door trim comprises a slot for allowing adjustment of the armrest.20. The improved adjustable armrest of claim 19, wherein the armrestmasks the slot.